Convergence is a term used for an emerging trend in the telecommunications and Internet industry to incorporate the functionality of many different types of devices into a single unit. It includes convergence of networks, terminal devices, and services. In the context of wireless communications, a converged device typically has the capability to support multiple access technologies to communicate with different networks, such as radio access technology, (e.g., IEEE 802.11, third generation partnership project (3GPP), code division multiple access (CDMA), Bluetooth®, or the like), or wired access technology, (e.g., Ethernet IEEE 802.3).
One of the most challenging problems associated with a converged device is maintaining mobility across heterogeneous networks. Some standards groups address various parts of the mobility issues, such as IEEE 802.21 which provides link layer intelligence to assist mobility, or Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) mobile Internet protocol (IP) for layer 3 (L3) mobility.
Currently, the current high-end market dominated by personal data assistant (PDA) and smartphone platforms predominantly uses dual-processor hardware architectures, (one for modem, plus one for applications).
In a 3GPP handset, such as a dual mode universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) frequency division duplex (FDD)/wireless local area network (WLAN) handset, a mobile termination (MT) module is used to perform radio transmission and related functions, a terminal equipment (TE) module contains end-to-end applications, and a user services identity module (USIM) contains data and procedures which unambiguously and securely identify the handset.
Although present standards, such as IETF mobile IP or IEEE 802.21, specify messaging to enable mobility, they do not provide any implementation solution. Moreover, some coordination is required between these mobility entities. However, this coordination has not been addressed by any standard groups.
Furthermore, it would be advantageous to provide a mobility middleware architecture where an application processor and the RAT networks are not in the same platform.